With anguish Mark slid behind the cover of the hill, his head down, eyes clenched shut. It was over; the human race had lost! Mark doubted whether any humans would survive more than a year upon the surface if the Trellixian genocidal campaign continued against the civilian population. Already most of the major cities had been destroyed. Dams, power stations, nearly all the infrastructure built up over one hundred years had been ruthlessly annihilated.
Mark realized he needed to get to his squad’s rendezvous coordinates. He was hesitant to use his comm as it might alert the Trellixians to his presence. The rendezvous point was only a few miles away in thick, concealing forest near another mountain. He hoped the others in his squad had survived the blast.
Forcing himself to walk Mark retraced his steps, taking a roundabout course into the surrounding mountains toward his destination. He carried a small pack, an assault rifle, and a pistol as well as several flash grenades. He almost wished a Trellixian would step out in front of him so he could vent his rage after witnessing the recent disaster.
The missile the aliens had used at the end had penetrated the base’s fusion-powered energy shield as if it didn’t even exist. That final weapon was unbelievable and Mark wondered why the Trellixians hadn’t used it earlier in the battle. What good his report would do now he had no idea. The humans had nothing left to fight back with; his information would be of little value to the few surviving troops and scientists his commander had indicated were being held in reserve.
-
General Mitchell tried to remain calm as the emergency lights flickered and then came on. The Command Center was a wreck. Parts of the ceiling had crashed to the floor, killing some of the men and women who operated the various consoles.
“Everything above us is gone,” reported General Briggs. His uniform was torn in several places and he had a small cut on his forehead. “We have no communication with the outside world.”
“Can we still evacuate?” asked General Mitchell.
Briggs nodded. “Yes, much of the lower level survived to an extent. We suffered a lot of casualties but we can still get out.”
“Antimatter,” reported Colonel Fields. “They used some type of antimatter weapon against us. It smashed our energy shield and most of the mountain is gone.”
“How do you know?” asked Colonel Briggs.
Colonel Fields pointed toward the laptop he held. “This is still connected to a Jelnoid satellite. Take a look.”
The two generals looked at the screen, seeing the devastation caused by the Trellixian weapon.
“My God, the mountain is gone!” Briggs couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Why haven’t they used something like this before?”
“While it doesn’t have any radiation it still puts a lot of contaminates into the air,” replied Colonel Fields. “Setting off three or four of these could put the planet into a nuclear winter.”
General Mitchell looked around at the destroyed Command Center. Medics were helping the injured and others were making their way to the two exits. “Let’s go. We can’t do anything else here.” With a deep sigh, General Mitchell thought about what was next. This war was not over, not by a long shot!
Chapter Seventeen
Mark carefully approached the rendezvous coordinates. In the last several hours he’d encountered no one. He’d heard a Trellixian attack craft fly over once but it had continued on to an unknown destination. Keeping under the canopy formed by the thick growth of trees he hoped he would remain undetected.
Nearby he could hear the sound of running water. The rendezvous coordinates were just to the west side of the stream next to a clearing; where the helicopter had landed them. Near the clearing was a rocky overhang which shielded a small cave, if one could call it that which they hoped would prevent detection from above. Grasping his rifle and holding it at the ready, Mark slowly moved through the trees, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of danger. The snapping of a small tree branch alerted him to the presence of someone behind him and spinning around he brought his rifle to his shoulder, ready to fire.
“Don’t shoot, sir,” a shaken private said, holding up his hands. “We were beginning to fear you wouldn’t show up.”
“Private Donly,” Mark said, recognizing the young soldier. “How many others made it?” Donly had been with Corporal Sampson.
“The captain, Private Richards, Private Peterson, Private Hambridge, and Corporal Sampson so far,” Donly answered. “They’re waiting at the overhang.”
“Let’s go then,” Mark ordered. He glanced down at his watch, noting how much time had passed realizing no one else would probably make the rendezvous. Some good Rangers were missing, among them Sergeant Anderson and the men who had been with him.
Mark and Private Donly quickly crossed the stream and made their way to the overhang and the small cave which extended about five yards into the mountain.
“Major,” Captain Reynolds said, standing up, her expression showing relief at seeing him. “We were afraid the last weapon the Trellixians used had taken you out.”
He looked around at the small group. All looked disheveled with their uniforms covered in soot from the blast. “What was that damn thing they dropped at the end?” He looked at Reynolds, waiting for an answer. If anyone would know it would be her.
“I think it was antimatter,” replied Lisa, shaking her head. “It’s highly unstable and I’m surprised they even used something like that. It’s far beyond anything we’re capable of.”
“What about Sergeant Anderson and the two soldiers with him? Any idea of their whereabouts?”
“The sergeant was to the right of our position and closer to the blast,” Reynolds said in a lower voice. “I don’t think they made it.”
“Private Donly and I looked for them but couldn’t find them,” added Corporal Sampson. “With all the smoke and ash we could have missed them.”
Mark let out a deep breath. So many people had died today. “We’ll wait here another two hours. If they don’t show up we’ll move out.” Mark sat down on a large rock and gazed at the small stream and forest.
His mind was nearly numb from what he’d witnessed. It had been like this for weeks. Reports kept coming in of city after city being destroyed, Trellixian troops spreading out and eliminating survivors, the human militaries making desperate stands to slow down the deadly advance, trying to give the civilians time to flee, only to be wiped out by superior firepower.
“What’ll happen now?” asked Lisa, as she came over and sat down next to the major.
“I don’t know,” Mark replied with a sigh. “Not many of us are left. Do you know if any of your family survived?”
“I don’t think so,” answered Lisa, shaking her head. Her eyes looked sad and her face pale. Her brunette hair was just barely visible beneath her combat helmet. “My family lived in Portland and it was one of the first cities hit.”
“The Trellixians were supposed to be the solution to so many of our problems,” Mark said, recalling what the aliens had promised when the first ship appeared over Washington, DC. “Cures for many of our diseases, better power systems, new methods to grow food to stop hunger and more.”
“All lies,” Lisa said, biting her upper lip. “During the entire time they spoke to the world governments they were simply preparing to exterminate us. I remember speaking to my dad at the very beginning and he was so excited about the possibility of having unlimited energy. For several years the Portland area had been subjected to rolling blackouts. He was talking about adding an addition to the house so if grandkids ever visited they’d have their own rooms.”
“Grandkids,” repeated Mark, shifting his gaze to look at Captain Reynolds. “Did you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No,” Lisa replied, her face flushing slightly. “My parents were hoping as soon as I got out of the military I would settle down and have a family.”
“Did you have anyone special in your life?”
Lisa closed her eyes a
nd then slowly opened them. “Yes, Streth and I had dated since high school. I guess the two of us always assumed we would eventually get married. I was to finish my tour in the military and then we were to get married. He had a real-estate business and was doing quite well with it. He was in Portland when the Trellixians bombed it. I also had a research job lined up after my time in the military was over.”
“I’m sorry,” Mark said. “This has been hard on everyone.”
The two became quiet, lost in their own thoughts. In the forest, the sounds of insects and an occasional birdcall could be heard.
-
President Hathaway had been briefed on the battle by Major Cunningham. A viewscreen in the room focused on the smoking ruins of General Mitchell’s base.
“How many people did we lose?” Katelyn knew a large number of soldiers had been killed in the fighting. She felt numb knowing thousands of brave men and women had just died trying to protect the mountain.
“Six to eight thousand,” Cunningham answered. “It’ll take a while to get exact numbers as we have a lot of survivors still coming in.”
“What about General Mitchell and his staff?” Katelyn didn’t know what she would do if the general had been killed. She also knew he wouldn’t have evacuated until the very end.
“They escaped,” replied Major Cunningham. “The lower level of the base survived and the general had ordered everyone still in the base to take shelter there just before the Trellixians dropped their bomb. He also managed to get most of the surviving troops around the mountain inside and down to the lower level.”
“What caused that?” Katelyn pointed at the deep crater where the massive mountain once stood.
“Antimatter,” answered Professor Wilkens with a frown. “They used a missile with an antimatter warhead.”
Katelyn shook her head. “How do we fight something like that?”
“I’m hoping to have some answers soon,” Wilkens replied. “Captain Reynolds was there with Major Dolan and a squad from the 75th Ranger Regiment. She has some special instruments she used to observe the battle. We should learn a great deal from what she recorded. We also received a lot of data from General Mitchell’s base during the battle.”
“If she’s still alive,” Major Cunningham replied. “Hell, that antimatter missile killed a lot of Trellixian troops as well. Even some of their hover tanks were destroyed in the blast. I can’t understand why they didn’t give their own troops more time to escape.”
“They’re expendable,” explained Professor Wilkens. “They don’t look at life the same way we do. They’re driven by population pressure. To them life is cheap. If a soldier is lost they just order up more.”
“That’s gruesome,” said Katelyn, trying to imagine what such a culture would be like. “Why don’t they control their population?”
Professor Wilkens shook his head. “The Jelnoids believed the Trellixians were incapable of implementing such a policy. To them birth control was the same as murdering their children.”
Katelyn took a deep breath. “As soon as General Mitchell gets here I want to speak to him.” She wanted to find out what the general intended to do next. Surely he had a plan on how to fight this war, even after this disaster.
-
Professor Wilkens looked at the devastation on the viewscreen. He hoped Lisa had survived. It would haunt him to his dying day if something had happened to her. Early on he had made sure she was assigned to the Rangers. Two other special captains had been assigned to them as well. Wilkens had important plans for all three. Two he had already sent out recall orders for. They would be arriving at the research facility in the next day or two.
With a deep sigh Wilkens knew all he could do now was wait and pray Lisa had escaped the carnage unharmed by the antimatter bomb.
-
Several hours passed and Mark stood and looked around. It was evident Sergeant Anderson and the two soldiers with him weren’t going to make it. Their names would be added to the long list of those who had been killed by the Trellixians. Anderson had been one hell of a soldier.
“Let’s move out,” Mark ordered. He picked up a small pack and slung it over his shoulders. They had left a few supplies in the cave before setting out to observe the battle and he made sure everyone had what they needed to take with them. They had a long ways to travel and there was a chance the Trellixians might find them before they got to their destination.
-
Lisa stood as Privates Peterson and Hambridge stepped nearer. They weren’t carrying any of her equipment as it had been destroyed in the blast. Fortunately she had recovered the small USB drives from the two scanners. She wondered what the Trellixians would think when they discovered it. They were bound to recognize it as Jelnoid technology. Before leaving she had ordered the two privates to thoroughly smash both of the scanners.
-
As evening neared they’d put quite a few miles between them and the destroyed base. The sun was close to setting when they heard an alien shuttle fly overhead and saw it land directly in front of them.
“They must have detected us,” Lisa said worriedly, as she stared in the direction the Trellixian shuttle had descended. The tall trees made it difficult to determine how close to them it had come down.
“How?” Mark was concerned. They were traveling through a small valley with towering mountains around them and no way to go around the enemy.
“Heat sensors probably,” Lisa replied. She looked at Mark. “They may be searching for survivors from the battle.”
“What do we do?” asked Corporal Sampson, holding his assault rifle cradled in his arms. “Do we need to retrace our steps?”
“No,” Mark replied as he thought over their options. “We can’t go back.” Even as he spoke he heard the Trellixian shuttle again and saw it rise in the air and vanish to the south.
“They left,” Corporal Sampson said, with relief in his voice.
“I doubt that,” replied Mark, peering into the thick forest around them. “They probably set down a squad of their soldiers to take us out and went in search of more survivors.”
“Do we fight?”
“Yes,” Mark answered. He turned to Private Donly, carrying two backpacks. “How many M24 claymores do you have?”
“Four,” Donly answered.
The M24 claymore was an antipersonnel weapon specifically designed to take out enemy troops. It was directional and could be detonated from a distance. When triggered, each mine would fire four hundred steel bearings capable of penetrating body armor. Mark was certain if he could detonate one within five yards of the Trellixians, the projectiles would penetrate even their body armor, killing them.
“This trail we’ve been following is pretty narrow,” said Mark, looking ahead of them and seeing a lot of tall trees and overgrowth which made much of the forest impassable. “We’ll set up a killing zone in front of us.” He hurriedly showed Donly where to place the claymores.
While Donly set the claymores, the others moved back a short distance and took cover behind some large boulders and a fallen tree lying partially across the trail. When Donly was finished, he jogged back to Mark and handed him the detonator. Four glowing lights were visible, each designating one of the claymores.
“Now we wait,” Mark told the others. He would allow the Trellixians to come to them and with a little luck take them out before they even knew where the humans were.
“It’ll be dark soon,” said Lisa, looking at the lengthening shadows cast by the mountains. Already it was difficult to see far into the forest. “It’ll be hard to spot the Trellixians until they’re almost upon us.”
“Just stay down,” said Private Peterson, who was on one side of Lisa with Private Hambridge on the other.
The time seemed to pass by slowly as the seven of them waited with their focus on the trail and their ears listening for any noises which might indicate the approach of the enemy soldiers.
“It’s too quiet,” whispered Corporal Sa
mpson from his position a yard to Mark’s right. “We should have seen or heard something by now.” He shifted his rifle, gazing through the night scope.
Even with the night scopes Mark knew his team could only see about fifty yards into the forest in front of them.
“Quiet,” Mark ordered as he thought he saw movement in the undergrowth. If he was right the enemy wasn’t using the trail but had forced their way through the thick tangle of vines and underbrush that covered the forest floor.
“I got ’em,” said Private Donly, peering intently at a spot in the forest. “About forty yards out and to the right of the trail.”
“Crap,” muttered Corporal Sampson, clicking the safety off his assault rifle. “They’re too far away for the claymores.”
“Let’s force them back on the trail,” said Mark, as he reached down and unhooked two flash grenades from his belt. The flash grenades would emit a brilliant light, as well as searing heat, where they went off.
Everyone got their weapons ready knowing shortly they would be in a fight for their lives. The Trellixians were not known to take prisoners. Corporal Sampson also readied two flash grenades, keeping an eye on Mark so he would know when to toss them.
“Now,” said Mark, keeping his voice low so as not to attract the enemy’s attention. Standing in a low crouch he lobbed first one grenade and then the second in the aliens’ direction. Corporal Sampson did the same.
Moments later four loud explosions echoed across the small valley, as four brilliant flashes of light and searing heat were released on the valley floor. A lot of movement could be heard in the underbrush and then two Trellixians stumbled out onto the trail, their energy rifles held at the ready, searching for a target. Both were clad in full battle armor with a helmet and protective visor.
Mark instantly pressed a switch on his remote detonator and two of the claymores exploded just yards from the alien soldiers. Hundreds of steel bearings struck the two, penetrating their armor, knocking both backward and to the ground. “Fire!” ordered Mark, as other armored Trellixians emerged from the undergrowth.
Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One) Page 24